Entrepreneurs Toolkit

Wisconsin has a strong tradition of entrepreneurship. Think of the marquee companies, headquartered in Wisconsin, that are our economic calling cards – Oshkosh Corp., S.C. Johnson, Johnson Controls, Manitowoc Company, Harley-Davidson, Briggs & Stratton, Johnsonville, Kohler, Kohl’s and Quad Graphics. These companies all have one thing in common: They were named after the Wisconsin municipality of their founding or the last name of their founders.

Today, a new generation of entrepreneurs and their partners are helping to build Wisconsin’s 21st century “knowledge economy” on a solid foundation that has long included expertise in manufacturing, agriculture, medicine and more. Read a timeline of Wisconsin’s entrepreneurial and technology milestones.

The Entrepreneur’s Toolkit is designed to give innovators a guide to resources available in Wisconsin and beyond. Some of those resources have been available for years, if not decades; some are relatively recent additions to the toolbox and reflect Wisconsin’s commitment to building on its historically entrepreneurial culture and economy.